So I have been wanting to pursue a career in medicine since I was really young and now I’m not sure if that can still happen. I am in my second semester of my first year in college (a top ranked state school) and I had a pretty horrible first semester. I got a D in biology, chem, and intro psychology, but As in my other easy classes. I have always been a great student but the transition to college just really triggered my mental illness and made it very hard for me to focus on my classes. I feel like med schools may not care that much about my circumstances because mental illnesses are usually not seen in the same way as physical illness or other difficult life situations. Are they forgiving at all about these kinds of situations?
I have been doing a lot better this semester, however, and i have gotten much better grades on my tests in both biology and chemistry. I was always at the top of my high school class in a competitive IB program and I got straight As and a 2100 on my SAT, so I definitely have the work ethic and intelligence to do well. I am very motivated to do well throughout the rest of college now that I feel more stable in terms of my mental health, and I know I have the ability to do well but I just don’t know if I’ll be wasting my time. I know that even if I retake my classes and get As, med schools will still count my failing grades in my GPA so I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to bring it up.
Do you think that I should still pursue a medical career or try and focus on something else?
(Sorry this is so long!)
You’re in a very difficult spot and it will be hard to give your definitive answer.
- Those Ds are going to hurt you. They’ll lower your overall and science GPAs, particularly for allopathic (MD) program which do not allow for grade replacement, even if your college does. It’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of As to redeem your GPA. Whether you will be able to do that–only time will tell.
If you’re willing to consider attending a osteopathic medical school, you may have a better chance since DO program allow grade replacement and will only use the most recent grade in GPA calculations.
Either way, you need to place some distance between your poor grades and your application to medical school. Plan right now to take 1 or more gap years before applying. (The extra time will also give you a chance to improve your academics.)
Remember the road to med school is a marathon, not a sprint.
- Difficult life situations-- sometimes adcomms may give a little slack for students who have gone through bad situations (moreso if the situations are outside of your control–like a major illness or a death in the immediate family–than if you fail to adequately address your mental/physical health problems because those are under your control). However, you only get 1 “pass” on poor academics and only if it’s early on in your college career. Any repeats of poor academic performance and it will definitely and irredeemably hurt your application.
(Unsolicited advice–next time you find yourself having difficulties, do the mature thing: seek help immediately and take a medical withdrawal if you can’t salvage your grades.)
Mental illness raises alarm bells for adcomms–and justifiably so. Medical school (and residency even more so) is a meat grinder that can destroy even mentally & physically healthy individuals. You need to be honest with yourself and evaluate whether you’re stable/healthy enough to survive that kind of stress. If you have your illness under control–and there are no additional future incidences and you can demonstrate your resilience and your ability to manage high levels of stress–then maybe a career as physician isn’t out of your reach. But getting there isn’t going to be easy or fast. And only time will tell.
- There are so many other medical careers beside physician. You may find these fit your life better. Don’t rule these out without exploring them. Keep an open mind.